


Space Jellybeans

by YukiSetsu



Series: 12 Days of (Lance) Whumpmas [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allergic reaction, Allergies, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, difficulty breathing, keith gives lance a piggyback ride though, what i wouldn't give to see that on the show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-17 19:09:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13083462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YukiSetsu/pseuds/YukiSetsu
Summary: Lance has trouble sleeping and seeks out help from Coran. He gets something to help him sleep, but his body reacts negatively, leaving Lance with little time to get help before it got worse.





	Space Jellybeans

**Author's Note:**

> late afff omg i’m sorry i had a hard time with this day because i’m not used to writing allergic reactions askfjalk

It started when Lance started to have trouble sleeping. It wasn't _bad_ , but Pidge's headphones and the sleeping mask weren't working as well as they used to. It was enough to leave him lying in bed at random hours of the night, enveloped in complete darkness but wide awake. So one day, he sought out Coran after everyone had split up into their own evening activities. Lance found him still on the bridge, leisurely tapping away at the tablet in his hands.

“Coran, my man.” Lance called out, sauntering over with a grin.

Coran glanced up, eyes crinkling in a smile when he spotted Lance. “Did you need something, my boy?”

“I just had a... question. Is there any kind of fancy Altean medicine that helps with sleeping on this ship?”

Coran tilted his head. “Sleeping? Are you having trouble falling asleep at night?”

It felt a bit silly now that Lance was having the conversation. But at this point, he might as well go through with it. “Yeah. A bit.”

Coran hummed thoughtfully, shutting off the tablet and setting it aside. “I can't say for certain that a medicine comes to mind. Oh!” His eyes lit up, and he headed towards the main doors, a hand up as a signal for Lance to wait. “One moment, I might have just the thing!”

And so Lance waited, hands in his pockets as he watched space drift on by outside the windows. Maybe he could get drowsy if he just slept next to a window, watching the expanse of stars and planets lazily float past. Sleeping on the ground might be a bit uncomfortable, though. He heard the doors slide open again, turning to see Coran jog back inside with a jar in his hands. Things that looked like orange jellybeans filled the container, nothing like what he imagined when he thought of sleeping medicine.

“These are called Lilipyrs!” Coran explained, twisting the jar open. Lance leaned in for a closer look. Didn't really smell like anything. “I don't believe humans know of it, but they are known to induce drowsiness and relaxing properties in those who take it. One Lilipyr should be plenty for you. Taste is great, so no worries on that!”

Lance grinned, picking one out from the jar and tucking it into his pocket. “Better than nothing. Thanks, Coran! I'll let you know how it goes.”

He headed off to his room early that night, eating dinner a bit sooner than the others and getting ready for bed. He hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in a few days, and he was fully prepared to tuck in before his usual time and catch a couple more hours to make up for it. He felt so impatient to get to sleep that he decided to forsake his skin care routine this time around—he'd probably yell at himself for that tomorrow morning—and opted to just slip into his pajamas instead.

A few minutes later, Lance was perched at the end of his bed, the small orange bean in his hand. He stared at it for a long moment, contemplating. Coran did mention that humans haven't tried it yet... Was it safe? Not that he ever assumed Coran would just willingly hand him something that could endanger his life, but still...

Maybe he'd try sleeping on his own one more time.

Lance shuffled into bed, careful to set the bean next to his pillow before he slid on the sleeping mask and headphones. Guess these extra hours would be his test run. He tucked his blanket around him before settling onto the pillow, wriggling around to get into a comfortable position. And once he did, it was just deep breathing and trying to relax from there on out.

And he tried, he really did. He was pretty sure it had been at least an hour before he sat back up, sliding up his mask with a groan. Well, this wasn't working. He blinked, letting his vision adjust to the darkness of his room as he groped around for the bean on his bed. Once his hand closed around the small object, he didn't hesitate to pop it in his mouth and chew. His eyes widened at the burst of flavor, something akin to a tropical taste. Definitely tasty, like Coran said. If it had been a snack, he could've eaten those all day. He chewed a bit more, savoring the flavor before he swallowed, letting his stomach digest for a few seconds before he settled back into bed, sleeping mask back on. Hopefully the thing worked fast.

But a few minutes later, Lance almost felt _more_ awake, an uncomfortable sensation in his chest. He tried to ignore it, but it felt like an itching that crawled its way up his body and to his throat. It got too much, and Lance sat back up, discarding the headphones and sleeping mask on the bed as he tried to figure out what was bothering him so much.

He _itched_. Why was he itching? The room was too dark, and he pushed himself out of bed to turn the lights on. The lights snapped on, and Lance squinted at the light, adjusting to the white and zeroing in on his arms. His wrists were beginning to look red and irritated, angry bumps making their way up towards his arms.

For a few seconds, Lance just stared, wondering if he was seeing things properly. Something like this never happened before. The sudden burst of panic seemed to tighten his chest, and he found it significantly more difficult to breathe. He skimmed his fingers over the bumps, ignoring the way he trembled. Okay, something was definitely wrong. It must have been what Coran gave him, there wasn't any other explanation. He'd go and get it fixed...

He stumbled out into the hallway, feeling like the air was punched out of his lungs once he started to move again. He barely caught himself against the wall, holding himself up as he gripped at his arms, his fingers reflexively scratching at the skin to relieve the constant itching. Would he even make to to Coran's quarters?

Lance glanced at the room just down the hall, biting down a groan. He really didn't want to, but the panic overrode everything. He made his way to Keith's door, knocking weakly before he slumped against it, trying to catch his breath. It was starting to feel like he was breathing through straws at this point. It was terrifying, to say the least.

When the door slid open, Lance just barely realized he was still leaning on it before he tumbled forward. He fell against something soft before he hit the ground, and it took him a second to realize Keith caught him before they fell. If this was any other situation, this would've been one of the most embarrassing moments of his life.

“Ow,” Keith groaned, trying to sit back up. Lance wanted nothing more than to get off of Keith's chest, but his body was too busy trying to get air into his lungs, and his arms were feeling really uncomfortable. “Lance, what the _hell—_ ”

“G-get Coran.” Lance wheezed, finally managing to push himself onto his knees. One hand gripped at the cloth above his chest, wishing that he could breathe better if he just tore it off. “I'm—I can't—”

Hands grabbed at Lance's face before he found Keith staring right at him, eyes wide. “Dude, your face...” Lance didn't know what that meant, but then Keith was looking over his shoulder and yelling out into the hallway. “Shiro? Guys! I need help over here!”

Lance tried to stand, struggling to take in a full breath. “K-Keith...”

Keith looked back, expression grim before he turned around and picked Lance up in a piggyback. “Sorry. It might be harder to breathe like this, but I'm gonna run.”

Lance tried to nod, his chest feeling like it had already shrunk half its size as Keith got up. His forehead fell against Keith's shoulder, too tired to waste any more energy on something that wasn't breathing. His arms burned. His face hurt.

There was pounding footsteps down the hall before Lance heard them stop right in front of him. “Keith?” It was Shiro, panting. “What's going on?”

“Something's wrong with Lance. Can you get Coran and meet us in the medical bay?”

Lance didn't hear Shiro respond, but he heard his footsteps already sprinting away before Keith started to run as well. He had to admit that Keith ran fast, though. It wasn't long before he found himself sitting on a table in the medical bay, Keith holding him back up by the shoulders. He looked lost, unsure of what to do, and Lance couldn't blame him because he didn't really know either. At least he could still breathe, even though each inhale sent a shudder through his body with the effort it took. He ducked his head, shutting his eyes and working through each breath. Keith shifted Lance's weight onto one arm, and Lance felt a hand start to rub slow and hesitant circles on his back, which felt surprisingly comforting. Never thought he'd live to see the day.

After a short moment, he felt Keith's hands disappear before someone else cupped his face, and Lance blinked his eyes open to see Coran, eyes awash with concern.

“Hang in there, my boy. I'll fix this.” Coran had Lance lie down, but he rolled over onto his side because it was too hard to breathe on his back. Suddenly, Hunk filled his vision, holding his hand and saying something Lance couldn't quite make out. When did Hunk even get here?

He watched Hunk glance over before scooting aside a bit for Coran, who busied himself with the arm that Hunk wasn't occupying. Lance tried to look, but Hunk drew his attention again.

“Coran's just giving you some stuff to help you feel better, man.” Hunk said with a smile, running his free hand through Lance's hair. “Just focus on breathing with me. It should get easier soon.”

Lance did, listening to Hunk count off each inhale and exhale every time. And a minute later, whatever Coran did must've worked, because his chest loosened and his arms stopped itching as much. It was a relief to feel air whoosh into his lungs like they normally did, calming the hazy panic that had been enveloping him. For a few minutes, he took in larger and larger breaths, grateful for the reprieve. His head slumped against the table, exhausted.

“Wha' happened?” Lance mumbled.

Hunk squeezed his hand sympathetically. “From what I heard, Coran gave you something to help you sleep? Guess your body didn't react well to it.” He blew out a breath. “You could say it was an allergic reaction. Coran gave you something to stop the thing from spreading and counter its effects.”

“Oh.” He was allergic to a space jellybean. That sounded great. He shifted the arm Coran had working on, spotting something similar to an IV drip attached to it. The liquid looked kind of yellow though, which was a little gross.

Coran had been standing a few feet away, speaking quietly with Allura—he didn't remember when she got here, either—and checking something on his tablet before he caught Lance's gaze and stepped over. “How do you feel?”

“Better. Thanks.”

Coran shook his head, frowning. “I should be the one apologizing. I should have checked it to make sure it was compatible with humans before giving it to you. I'm just glad we stopped it before it got worse.” He lifted a hand, light as a feather above Lance's arm. “Think you can go on your back now, my boy? I'd like to keep you here for a bit to make sure everything's fine.”

Lance nodded, finally letting go of Hunk's hand and shifting onto his back with a sigh. He caught Keith standing near his head, arms crossed with an unreadable expression.

Lance grinned. “Never thought I'd say this, but thanks for the piggyback.”

Keith flushed, gaze trained on the wall next to him. “It was nothing. As long as you're better now.”

“At least I remember you cradling me in your arms this time around, dude.” Lance's smile grew when Keith turned even redder.

He heard Pidge's voice somewhere to the side, and Lance turned to catch her heading towards him, pillow in hand. Shiro was just behind, hugging an armful of blankets. She pressed herself next to Hunk, moving to get the pillow under Lance's head.

Once she'd finished her task, she took a moment to get a good look at Lance. “Feeling better?” She squinted. “Your face looks a little swollen.”

“Oh trust me, it was a lot worse before.” Hunk supplied unhelpfully.

Lance's eye's widened. “Wait, how swollen are we talking here?”

“Alright guys, we need to let Lance rest a bit.” Shiro chimed in, careful to avoid the IV as he draped the blanket on Lance. “Once Coran says everything's fine, you can go sleep in your room. We'll be here in case anything happens.”

Lance shifted under the blankets. “You guys don't need to stay here. Go do... whatever you were doing.”

“It's for our peace of minds.” Allura said, popping up next to Shiro. She smiled warmly. “Rest, Lance.”

To be fair, he was actually feeling pretty sleepy. Would've been nice if he didn't need a near-death experience to get to this point, though. His eyes drooped shut, the low chatter of voices a soothing noise in his head. Sleep came easily this time.

 


End file.
